Conrad Hicks is an artist, blacksmith
and tool-maker in Cape Town. He specialises in hand-forged metal work, using only traditional blacksmithing jointing methods as he believes these are essential to the symbolic meaning of the finished form.
Conrad sees his artistic practice as
an instinctive search for beauty. Working intuitively, he allows his materials and labour-intensive process determine the final form.
In the process of cutting, pressing, heating, hammering and stretching metal, he discovers an archetypal language that calls to mind ancient art forms.
All of his work, from the most functional to the most purely sculptural, he sees as tools.
Expressive and highly textured, his pieces have an intimate connection with nature, even as many veer towards abstraction. His Wife? Bench and the No. 2 From Maquette Series side-table retain a charged, animal-like energy, while other pieces – such as Chaise Muse and Copper Chaise – are more ethereal, the copper beaten so thin it appears to float.
